The All Progressives Congress in Ondo State has called on the police and the Department of State Services to thoroughly investigate the activities of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the state.
The APC alleged that the commission was working with the Peoples Democratic Party to rig the upcoming governorship poll.
The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Adesanya, said there was the need for a total overhaul of INEC ahead of the November 26 governorship election in the state.
Adesanya accused the Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Segun Agbaje, and the commission’s Administrative Secretary, Kabir Omosanya, of collaborating with a faction of the PDP in the state to rig the election.
He alleged that the two officers of the commission had been working with key loyalists of Governor Olusegun Mimiko to perpetrate fraud ahead of the governorship election.
Adesanya said, “There is something fundamentally wrong with the INEC in Ondo State, which needs to be investigated by the security agencies. INEC ought to be an unbiased umpire in any electoral process, but sadly it is not so in Ondo State.
“We are not comfortable with the plans by Agbaje and Omosanya, who have been working with a faction of the PDP. We seem to have lost confidence in the ability of these two main principal officers of INEC to organise and create a conducive atmosphere for a free and fair election in the state due to their past records.”
The APC urged the national leadership of INEC to caution its officers in Ondo State, saying the residents of the state were prepared for a free and fair governorship election in the state.
Agbaje, in his reaction, denied the allegations.
He said the commission had not been partisan and had been fair to all political parties in the state.
The REC said, “The APC should substantiate their allegations with facts. We are doing what we are supposed to do as an electoral commission. They should not malign our name. They should face their campaign and allow INEC to do its job. If they think they want to distract us, they are wasting their time.”
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